SA Business Club awards first bursary

UCT student Sonia Ramautar will be the first student to benefit from the SA Business Club’s newly launched bursary initiative.

The Club, in collaboration with the University of Cape Town Trust, has selected Ramautar as the first recipient of the bursary, which will be awarded to promising South African business science students.

â€œIt’s been our intention to make some kind of contribution to developing business minded individuals in South Africa and to help create an entrepreneurial culture in South Africa. We’re in a good position to do that being based in the UK,” says Rebecca Davis, secretariat of the SA Business Club.

The SA Business Club held a joint event with the University of Cape Town Trust last year in order to launch the bursary.

â€œWe were guided by the UCT Bursary Fund which is part of UCT and knows better who is deserving of a bursary. Our only criterion was that the student be enrolled in a business science degree,” says Davis.

The bursary is funded by entrance fees, members’ contributions, and raffles drawn during social events. It will cover the two years of Sonia’s tuition leading up to her graduation.

â€œI feel completely blessed and excited at the award of such a bursary,” says Ramautar. â€œI am always looking for opportunities to broaden my exposure to companies that are doing extraordinary things and that, in this case, benefit and enrich my academic life as well. It’s a rewarding collaboration.”

Sonia, who hails from Durban, also thinks that it is commendable that expatriate organisations such as SA Business Club are working to enrich the lives of South Africans back home.

â€œBecause of constraints that are not often due to the direct actions of budding South Africans that thirst enrichment, such as a lack of funds, resources or inspirational people, many fall short in reaching their highest potential. This negative effect can be minimized by organisations that provide a platform for such individuals to be given a helping hand,” says Ramautar.

The bursary will be offered as part of an ongoing initiative and awarded to another suitable candidate upon the completion of Ramautar’s studies.